The Old Me

A woman among the protesters calls for the mob to quit attacking Nayuta, arguing that even though the girl killed a man under her control, sinking to such savage behavior so fast is wrong. Nayuta spots Barem groping for his gun and trying to fire, only to find it empty. He presses the barrel to his own temple and pretends Nayuta is driving him to suicide, stoking the crowd's anger once more.

The chapter slips into memory, showing Denji bringing Nayuta into their home. She puzzles over why she pities the man and, more pointedly, his heart. Reaching through her chains, she uncovers her former existence as Makima and that her aim had been to upend Denji's private life to rouse Chainsaw Man. Nayuta concludes that tearing down this gentle life, just as her past self once did, will reveal her true nature. A montage follows through their apartment and the things they have shared, including Nayuta and Denji romping with the dogs, the girl plainly delighting in it. At last the two lie side by side, with Nayuta calling him foolish and stubborn yet also a student and Chainsaw Man, and when she asks what that makes her, Denji answers that she is family. Another voice cuts him off: his own.

A younger Denji sneers at his present worship of family, pointing out how he discarded it again and again to be Chainsaw Man, and reminds him that he killed his own father, which shatters the dream. The scene then reveals Denji lying in a hospital bed, leaving it murky how much of the recollection truly belonged to Nayuta.

A protester defends Nayuta while Barem, out of bullets, fakes that she is forcing him toward suicide. In a flashback, Nayuta uses her chains to recover memories of her life as Makima and her old goal of awakening Chainsaw Man by disrupting Denji's life. She relives warm moments with Denji and the dogs, and Denji calls her family. A young Denji mocks his idealization of family and recalls killing his father, before the scene reveals Denji in a hospital bed, blurring whose memory it was.

Released on February 14, 2024 within Volume 18 and the Chainsaw Man Church arc, this chapter is built around an extended flashback. The featured characters include Barem Bridge, Nayuta in her Death aspect, Denji, plus mentions of Makima, Pochita, and Denji's Father. The ambiguous framing leaves the source of the memories deliberately unclear.